Being Loke
by El loopy
Summary: After the guild have disappeared back inside, Loke visits Lucy to ask for a dance. He gets more of an earful than he bargained for. Possible missing scene from episode 125. Oneshot. Slight Loke x Lucy.


Being Loke

The evening air was balmy, soothing; fresh and warm. The last rays of the sun streaked across the sky. The makeshift dance floor was empty now, dirt scuffed into hundreds of footprints, the only sign that something of her past had touched her present. Lucy stretched her legs in front of her and leaned back, flexing out her shoulders. Her mind wandered in time, to where her path had deviated from her debutante lifestyle and she'd runaway to join a guild. This would be her first real ball. She'd have hosted scores by now in her alternative life. The sudden longing for her Mum and Dad flushed her with a fierce ache. She hoped they would see her. She hoped they'd be proud.

"Assuming that I can get anyone to dance with me," she muttered a little grumpily. Nobody had asked her at the rehearsals. She'd just had gruelling lessons from Capricorn after they'd all paired up.

"Oh well. I'm sure it will come in handy tomorrow," she tried more positively, squishing down the rejection, eyes on the blue and gold sky, tracking the silhouette of birds. She barely heard the slightest scuff of footsteps.

"I'm convinced you'll be wonderful," Loke's mellow tones joined her. Lucy tilted her head back to look at him sideways.

"Another visit from the spirit world? I _am_ popular today."

Loke was wearing his classic suit and glasses. Smart, debonair. Considerably less butler like than Capricorn.

"We all just want to help you out," he told her with a small smile, "in whatever way we can. We know your first ball is important to you. Cancer's all lined up to do your hair." Lucy smiled, softly, wondrously. "I'm so lucky to have you all. I don't know what I'd do without you." She was feeling nostalgic and emotional, and it clearly threw Loke.

"Yes…well…" he tilted his head away, so the glasses hid his eyes. "We could all say the same for you."

Lucy blinked in confusion. Was he flustered? His words left her feeling warm, reassured. Her earlier rejections paling in the face of her blessings. She shut her eyes and smiled, just being.

"Actually, I wanted to ask you something."

Lucy flickered her gaze open and rested on the Lion spirit, curiously.

"Oh?"

All traces of fluster suddenly gone, his persona replacing his personality, Loke flourished a hand at her with a dazzling smile. "Miss Heartfilia, would you do me the honour of this dance?"

Her response was a screech of brakes. An anvil crashing on his head. "Like hell." He flinched. Her arms crossed, frown furious.

"Why not?" he was stunned.

"I am not a charity case," she snapped, "and I don't need _anymore_ lessons, _and_ ," she added in case he thought she was done, "I don't like it when you do that."

"Do what?" He was genuinely taken aback, but she was clearly upset, and he didn't like to see her upset.

"Don't be so... _Loke_." She demanded it like a punch to the stomach. He stalled.

"Don't be Loke?" It left in a whisper of breath.

She fixed him with her eyes; hurt, angry eyes. "Its like there are two of you. A few moments ago, I was talking to Leo, my friend who cares about me, who fights alongside me, who promised to protect me." The anger had faded out of her face. "Now I'm being asked to dance by Loke. Playboy. Flirt. Who manages to make me feel like I'm just one of a thousand other girls he's asked to dance. Mr Ulterior Motive." She fell silent and she waited. He held her gaze a second longer, then dipped his head away so she couldn't see his expression. "I think you spent so long pretending to be Loke that you've forgotten how not to be him." She let the silence deepen. "It's not okay," she added quietly and saw an almost imperceptible nod in response.

"No, it's not," he replied blankly and stepped back from her.

"You're leaving?" Anger was thrumming back through her words again.

The truth was, it had crossed his mind that she was better off without him making the water murky, but he couldn't make himself go. He'd made a promise.

"No," he responded coolly and shrugged off his jacket, before unhooking the buttons on the cuffs and rolling up the sleeves.

He was gratified to hear her small squeak of appreciation. After the events of the evening so far he felt he needed a little boost. He shut his eyes and exhaled a breath before murmuring, "Let me try again."

He crouched down in front of her. Her eyes were wide and taken off guard. He made sure to meet them steadily. Serious.

"Lucy, will you dance with me?" His face was open, vulnerable, and she suddenly saw how exposed he was when he didn't hide behind himself. "Not because you're a charity case, or because you need more lessons. Tomorrow you will be worrying about fitting in, getting the job done. Today you were worrying about teaching the others and learning yourself." He flashed her a soft, warm smile. "I want to dance with you, so you can enjoy a dance. You don't need to teach me, and I won't correct you. You can just…have fun."

He was so close to her that if he barely reached out his fingers he could brush her arm. He resisted. She was looking at him with a slightly open-mouthed surprise. He allowed himself the small thrill of enjoyment. "So, Lucy. Will you dance with me?" He held out a hand, and after a second's hesitation a smile lit up her face. She gave a small, sure nod and slipped her hand into his.

"Yeah. Okay."


End file.
